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inemen of the area's Ntup business leaders have spent the last two years putting together a proposal that could trans- form the governance of Waterloo Region with some interesting backing in place. Calling themselves the Citizens for Better Govern- ment (CY-BU). the group is pushing for a singletier form of government that would scrap the cities of Cam- bridge, Kitchener and Water- loo. the four townships and Region of ’Walerloo and come up with a new, more cost efficient form of govern- ment that will retain com- munity identity. In a series of documents obtained by The Cambridge Times the group's plans have been laid out in a flow chart. Over the next two years the group hopes to gain enough public support for its con- cept to be able to go to the province and have a single- tier governance in place for the next municipal election in 20l0. While the CFBG is hoping to gain "grassroots" support for its ideas it has put togeth- er a battle plan as meticulous as any military campaign. The campaign was launched during the sum- mer of 2006 following a series of articles in The Record, some of which were written by then publisher Fred Kuntz.. The "Smart City" series in The Record promot- ed the idea of abandoning the current governance sys- tem in favour ofa single city model. CFBG chair Jim Erb said his group was formed more than a year before the "Smart City" series ran and had no connection with The Rechrd. That said, The Times has acquired correspondence between members of the group highly praising the Record's stories and talks about efforts being made to Reform group has surprising backing (in the t hrotticle BY RAY Mame In preparation for the CFBG's official launch on Sept. 19, 2006, Frontline Communications. a Kitchen er-based public relations firm, was called in to put together media savvy responses to possible ques- tions reporters might ask at the press conference and advised them to "stay away from using the 'A' word (amalgamation) l hold further meetings with Kuntz to further their cause. A Powerpoint presenta- tion prepared by Frontline Communications prior to last November's municipal election notes the "Record is looking for groups. individu- als, candidates, anything that feeds the topic" and "from their perspective, if not now, then never." In the aftermath the launch, Erb tells the steering committee in an e-mail that "the response from Doug Craig and Herb Epp is shameful." The Cambridge and Waterloo mayors flatly rejected the ideas put for- ward by the CFBG. Mayor Doug Craig tells the Times: "This is not a grass roots movement. It's a very select group. I'm very disap- pointed in these people. They are very well organized and very manipulative." Erb's e-mail to the steer- ing committee following Craig's and Epp's response in the Record states: "Rather than getting into a debate with them about the issue of governance, I think we should focus on their attitude of citizen involvement. I have drafted two letters that are attached which I think should be sent to The Record next week. Do any of you have someone who would send and sign their name to the letters. The letter that appeared in The Record from Marion Mes on Saturday was one from me. and l have a couple of others that will hopefully be pub- ()htariq Continued on page 4 Table & Chairs 21 Allen St. W., Wabbo 519 585 I000 Mtmthry-Ftkitay 9-5 My 10-4 CITY NEWS Braden Anstett and Kaitlin Cooper, Grade 2 students from St. Matthew's Catholic School, join hands with their classmates on Thursday to form a human chain between St. Matthew's and nearby Lexington Public School. The chain was meant to be a thread of diversity and unity connecting the schools and was done in celebration of Waterloo's 150th anniversary. A world war one pilot, a wrestler called "The German Terror" and a 1940s hockey star will be among those hon- oured this week at a gala dinner hosted by the city. Jerry Flynn, a war hero who went missing in action during the first world war; Orval Dorscht, a local business- man and professional wrestler; and Bobby Bauer, member of the Boston Bruins' famous Kraut line, are all part of the "Waterloo Iso," a group of people who all have improved or endorsed Waterloo during the last century and a half. "We were looking for people who have helped developed Waterloo," said Janet Seally, the local history manager at the Waterloo Public Library. The 150 people who were chosen will N? honoured at the legacy of head- ers dinner on Oct. 18. Honourees. their fam Iy and descendants will gather for dim er and drinks to celebrate those "There are all sorts of people on the list: religious leaders, athletes, artists, politicians. There's also a good mix of map and women," she said. Waterloo celebrates its Legacy of Leaders who have made significant contribu- tions to Waterloo over the last 150 years. The library is also releasing a book with profiles of all the honourees. "This dinner is a celebration of the community's leaders," said Sandra Stone, a member of the Waterloo 150 committee. The evening will also fea- ture talks from some of the honourees. “The speakers represent all areas of life in Waterloo," Stone said. They include Alex Mustakas. artistic director for Drayton Entertainment and Mary D'Alton, manager of theWaterloo Inn. That fact that two people as different as Mustakas and D'Alton are both members of the 150 shows the list's diversity, Stone said. The boup was chosen by Seally ' a committee of local historians and oth- ers from the heritage cPmmurtity. They pared through records. micro- film and old newspapers to select the most influential people in Waterloo's history. Soine of the more interesting and less obvious people on the list, however, came from community nomi- Alinkinthechain Exclusive distributors of the Steven & Chris line WM tKLUO cummcw . Wednesday, October Vi, nations, Seally said. In 2006, the committee asked for submissions and received about 50 replies. One nominee was Tom leary. a local resident who builds access lamps and invents assistive devices for dis- abled children. "Some of these smaller stories, those where the honouree isn't as well know. are some of the most compelling" Seal- ty said. Such was the case with war pilot Jerry Flynn. He is virtually unknown these days, but when Flynn went miss- ing at only 20 years old, his comrades and the community were devastated. It's an example of how one person can become a symbol for a community, Seallysaid. The list also includes more contem- porary and prominent members from the Waterloo community such as Herb Epp. Waterloo's longest serving mayor. V tpp has seen thie city grokexponem tially since his first term as mayor in 1975. "When I was first elected as mayor. I Continued on page 7 Karin Barthel ' sun-nap, Wham 885-0200 GREG WAD move ANY-3